Many modern devices include networking capabilities. In particular, many devices include Wi-Fi capabilities. The Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) has developed a protocol referred to as Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN). NAN facilitates device-to-device service discovery among various Wi-Fi enabled devices. In general, NAN allows multiple Wi-Fi devices to be synchronized. In particular, the devices can form a cluster of devices, wake up at the same time period (referred to as the discovery window), and communicate during the discovery window.
To facilitate device discovery, the NAN protocol provides that one of the devices in the cluster will be designated as the “master” device. The master device repeatedly (e.g., every 100 ms, or the like) broadcasts a discovery beacon. Another device can then receive the discovery beacon (e.g., by performing a background scan, or the like) to detect and join the cluster.
However, this technique provides a tradeoff in that the frequency of the background scan is proportional to the amount of power consumed. Said differently, cluster discovery latency is proportional to power consumption, with lower latency corresponding to greater power consumption. As an example, if cluster discovery is desired within 5 s, then power consumption will be approximately 3.7 mW. More specifically, assuming current draw in idle mode for a Wi-Fi device is approximately 35 mA with 3.6V, then power consumption can be derived as (A*V/Y), wherein A is the approximate current draw, V is the voltage amplitude, and Y is the latency. As such, power consumption for the above described system is approximately 35 mA*3.6V/5 s=3.7 mW.
As will be appreciated, performing background scans to detect NAN clusters as described above can drain a significant amount of power. In particular, for mobile devices, a repeated draw of this much power could quickly reduce the available power levels (e.g., the battery level, or the like) of the device. Accordingly, lower power detection of NAN clusters is desired. In some implementations, a power draw of less than 1 mW may be desirable. However, in order to have power consumption be less than 1 mW under the above-assumed conditions, latency will need to increase to at least 19 s. This may be unacceptable for certain applications.
Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to reducing power consumption for NAN cluster discovery. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to reducing power consumption for NAN cluster discovery without sacrificing discovery latency.